From Way Before
by SiriusHorcrux1018
Summary: [Slightly AU and character death] It was an unwritten rule you do not bed another man’s woman. Too bad Hakkai had a promise to keep.
1. The Death of a Friend

A/N: Hey there. This is my first time at _attempting _to write _anything _for the Saiyuki fandom…so, let's hope this might actually be somewhat readable. I've been watching the series for a while now (just the first season. I haven't managed to get ahold of many episodes of Reload or Gunlock), so I know that I'm going to keep things accurate. But this part of the story is after the whole resurrection has been stopped, so just consider this post-series. Confusing, no? Also, it may seem AU, so bear with me. OH! And if you cry, you can blame all the sad music I was listening to.

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Sha Gojyo was dead.

That just couldn't seem possible. The thought was unimaginable. It wasn't _possible._

There was no way that the tough half-breed who loved women, smoking, and drinking would ever succumb to death. He would never give in so easily and he would never be stupid enough to wait around for death.

So when his best friend, Cho Hakkai, had arrived at her door, looking ashen-faced, his green eyes clouded up with forbidden tears and pain, it took everything she had not to pound on Hakkai's chest and scream in denial.

"I'm sorry Rhianna."

Those three simple words cut through the thick, awkward silence that had drifted between them when Rhianna Reynolds had opened the wooden door of her cottage in the early hours of the morning to find Hakkai standing there.

And just like that, it seemed to the twenty-two year old human, that the world had stopped spinning.

Rhianna Reynolds felt her legs shake and turn to jelly as she quickly crumpled to the floor. Or rather, she would have if Hakkai hadn't rushed forewords and wrap his arms around her waist. She felt the man pull her into him in a sort of comforting embrace—the same way Gojyo would hold her at night—and she felt then as if she just couldn't hold it in anymore.

The tears came slowly, one by one, until it seemed as if someone had opened a flood gate and the tears started flowing quicker and quicker until the woman turned and sobbed hard into the green eyed demon's chest, his arms seeming to wrap around her a little more tightly.

As the woman sobbed, she felt him shift to sit on the floor, and then begin to rock gently back and forth…back and forth…back and forth…

Soft whispers began to mix with the gentle rocking as Rhianna soon found herself ceasing her crying, but never leaving the man's embrace, her cheeks wet with tears, eyes and nose both puffy and pink.

"Rhianna?"

Hakkai's gentle voice drew the woman's attention back onto the situation and she weakly looked up at him. "Yeah?"

The man looked back down at her and she could sense there was something the man wanted to tell her. Something comforting, a message from Gojyo. Whatever it was, she wanted to know what it was.

"Before Gojyo died…he told me to tell you that he loves you…"

Rhianna watched Hakkai, her blue eyes searching his. There was more. "What else did he say?"

A lick of his dry lips. Rhianna knew there was more now. Hakkai would always lick his lips before adding something to the message.

And the following words that were Gojyo's final message to her were words that she would keep in her heart forever. The promise she would hold onto for the rest of her days.

"Gojyo also said that one day he would come home," a hand slid onto Rhianna's rounding belly comfortingly, a small kick greeting the hand. "And that you, him and this baby would be a family again."

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A/N: Please review and just tell me what you think of it! If you have something negative to say, please explain how I can improve it! CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is appreciated! Thanks! 


	2. Keeping A Promise

A/N: Hey, back with a second chapter of "From Way Before"! Hope you guys enjoy it! Please review with either positive or negative comments! I really want to hear what you guys think of it!

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The warmth of summer soon drew to a close as the leaves morphed from green to rich shades or red and orange and gold. The thin stems broke loose from the surrounding trees in town and floated to the ground, soon being buried beneath layers of snow as winter barged its way in, covering everything in it's midst. Soon enough, the snow melted, making room for flowers to grow and live with the promise of a new spring.

Rhianna had given birth in the fall, nearly two weeks before November 9—Gojyo's birthday—to a healthy little half-breed girl, who she had named Brooke.

"Quite ironic," Priest Genjo Sanzo has commented when he and his follower, Son Goku, had come to see the new arrival at Rhianna's cottage. "Considering what her father was."

Rhianna had simply smiled and looked at her daughter with love, gently fingering the soft curls of red hair. It blew her mind just how her daughter came to be; especially since a half-breed like Gojyo himself was incapable of reproducing. The memory of Gojyo's demon blood taking over still chilled the woman to the bone.

As the seasons changed, Brooke grew and grew, and Rhianna was there every step of the way, not wanting to miss a thing.

Time continued to pass, Brooke continued to grow and Rhianna continued to light a candle every night, leaving it in the window, hoping, _praying_, that Gojyo might come home one day to her and their child.

Hakkai had moved in—as solely a promise to Gojyo—to help Rhianna with the baby and her; helping her take care of her wants and needs. Those wants and needs had never progressed to the bedroom.

Then one day, after Rhianna had just put Brooke down for a nap, Hakkai was in the kitchen, washing the dishes from lunch when he suddenly looked up and to his left to find Rhianna standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

Her thumbs had hooked themselves through the belt loops on her dark blue jeans, the sleeves of her light pink turtleneck rolled up to her mid-arms. Blue eyes trained on the green-eyed demon.

Hakkai blinked, his right hand clutching the yellow sponge in one hand, the china plate in his left. "Uh, Rhianna?"

"Um…" Rhianna bit her lip and shifted her weight and took a couple of cautious steps to the man. "Can we…talk?"

Nodding, Hakkai placed the dishes and sponge back into the sink. Grabbing the dish towel off the handle of the stove, he dried them. "What's up?"

Rhianna shifted her weight once more, looking rather serious but at the same time, hesitant about asking or saying whatever was bothering her.

"I'm…I want to have sex with you."

That was it; the words were out of her mouth and Hakkai blinked, watching her. A thick awkward silence drifted between the two. The sound of the clock ticking away time resonated through the kitchen.

"Um…I'm sorry, Rhianna." Hakkai coughed lightly. "What did you say?"

Hakkai had, in fact, heard perfectly what Rhianna had said. It was a matter of _clarifying_ what Rhianna had meant, to make sure that the demon hadn't misheard or imagined it.

Rhianna sighed and took a few more steps to Hakkai, moving to rest one hand on the counter. "I'm _lonely_. I'm tired of being alone."

"Rhi…" Hakkai started before clearing his throat, trying to not let his voice crack. "You…me…"

"Hakkai," Rhianna spoke in a gentle voice, moving so her body was less than a foot away from his. "I miss Gojyo…I miss him, and I love him…but I'm _tired _of being alone. I _need _sex. I _need_ to be close to someone. I want to feel loved again."

"But…this is me. I'm not him."

"I know you aren't." The hand on the counter moved a little to lightly rest on top of the male's. "But you were his best friend. You were close to him."

The demon gulped. There just had to be a way out of saying 'no' to his best friend's girlfriend without hurting her any more. She had already lost Gojyo—their child was going to grow up without her real father—and now it seemed that her only hope in feeling loved was to have intercourse with her boyfriend's best friend.

"I _really_ don't think this is a good idea." Hakkai countered.

"But you made Gojyo a promise. You told me that yourself."

That was right; Hakkai had made a promise to the half-breed shortly before his death. Gojyo had begged and pleaded that if something should happen to him, Hakkai was to go back to Rhianna, move in and help take care of her and the baby's every need and want. Hakkai had, at the time, assumed that meant every need and want with the exception of the bedroom. Bedding a woman who belonged to another man—regardless of that man being dead—was a huge 'NO'. It was an unwritten rule; you do not bed another man's woman under any circumstance.

"But—"

"You made Gojyo a promise to take care of my needs and wants. I _need _sex Hakkai. I haven't had any since you guys left before the resurrection." A few long moments passed, before Rhianna upped the ante. "I'm sure I can find it somewhere else if you aren't willing to put out."

Hakkai frowned, closing his eyes. What to do…what to do…

The man allowed his mind to drift, attempting to fight the internal struggle he was facing. It ultimately came down to bed his friend—take her into the bedroom and have sex with her—or leave her to find other men who would be more than willing to take Gojyo's spot.

If _he _was the one to dance with Rhianna beneath the sheets, than maybe it wouldn't be so bad later on; both knew each other well, both had the Brooke's best interests in mind (the girl shouldn't have to see different men leaving the cottage at all hours of the day and night, even as young as she was) and it wouldn't exactly be breaking Gojyo's promise, despite the fact that the promise seemed to go without saying that it did not extend to the bedroom.

"Well?" Rhianna tilted her head back a little, her brown ponytail dropping and brushing her shoulder blades, watching the man, who seemed to be deep in thought.

A deep sigh resonated from Hakkai's pink lips and it took another few long moments before he said anything.

"Okay…we'll…do what you asked." Hakkai explained, trying not to be too nervous about this. After all, this _was _his friend and his best friend's lover. "But on one condition."

"What's that?"

"This is purely sex with no strings attached." Hakkai stared meaningfully into Rhianna's eyes, his eyes boring into hers. "I'm only engaging in this because I took an oath—I promised Gojyo—and that's it. Under any other circumstance, this would never happen."

Rhianna couldn't help the smile play across her lips as if she had been given a new toy, blue eyes lighting up. "Oh, thank you, Hakkai!"

Hakkai watched the young mother, biting back a sigh. Damn…this was a mistake. He was sure of it; this whole arrangement was going to come back and get the both of them in the end.

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A/N: Okay, second chapter done. With some twists…please review!! 


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